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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26750587">Sick of Swimming</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skullharvester/pseuds/Skullharvester'>Skullharvester</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>One-Shots (Ratchet &amp; Clank) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ratchet &amp; Clank</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Drophyd, F/F, F/M, Robot, Terraklon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:07:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,456</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26750587</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skullharvester/pseuds/Skullharvester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of a Drophyd lieutenant.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Victor Von Ion/Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>One-Shots (Ratchet &amp; Clank) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sick of Swimming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Enjoy and have fun!  </p><p>If you liked this tale, please drop me a kudos and/or a comment to let me know if you'd like to see more!  </p><p>Thank you, and have a wonderful night!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>        In the minds of many across the universe, a Drophyd was hardly more than a dish served at fancy restaurants.  And why not?  They were a reputedly hostile species that few knew much about, let alone the fact that they were truly sentient, since they were rarely seen away from their home planet of Zaurik due to being aquatic fish creatures that could not live long outside of water. </p><p>        However, Zaurik over the years had become less and less capable of sustaining life as the endless wars raged on between the Drophyd and their primary rival species called the Terraklon, of the home world Terraklon Six. </p><p>        In what seemed like a fateful stroke of luck, the Drophyd saw a sudden boost in technological advancement, though no one is certain of how that came to be, and now many have begun to utilize mechanical suits equipped with water tanks to walk on dry land. </p><p>        Those who were afforded such a gift were typically members of the military, and no Drophyd was excited to have one of these suits as the Drophyd named Lieutenant Finneas, decorated veteran of the Drophyd/Terraklon war.  Finn for short.</p><p>        She remembered in her youth a folktale about a Drophyd filled with wanderlust seeking to live on land among legged people, and saw it as something to aspire to rather than the warning against trying to be something that you were not that it actually was intended to be. </p><p>        The romance between the fabled Drophyd and her many-legged suitor was indeed a part of the story that interested her, but even more so by far was a bit that she felt was sorely overlooked: the mention of the Drophyd’s curiosity with what those who lived on land called “fire”. </p><p>        As it turns out, fire was quite something to behold.  When she got her suit’s pincer-like hands on a flamethrower weapon used by surface-dwellers, she found that everything around her looked much more pretty when it was engulfed in dancing flames. </p><p>        Fire had a hypnotizing quality to it.  If it wasn’t its radiant beauty that inspired awe with its bright orange body, crackling embers, and fumes that gave the world a dreamlike filter, it was its power that left onlookers so enchanted.  The destruction and mayhem fire left behind was something worth respecting.</p><p>        When Finn wasn’t leading her military unit as her people began to travel further and further across the galaxy, she would go on wild tears, finding little areas on whatever mud ball planet they were stationed on that nobody would miss too much, and start lighting it up. </p><p>        One day, though, she picked the wrong forest to set fire to.  She thought she had the whole “controlled fire” thing down, but the grass was particularly dry that day.  It was hard to tell since her tank was plenty moist.</p><p>        On the other end of the forest was the vacation home of some important politician that was staying on the planet, and he was not particularly happy to see his investment go up in a puff of smoke. </p><p>        Finn was found guilty and arrested for her crimes.  The ones that people knew of, at any rate.  Then, she had the displeasure of getting to experience what a surface prison was like, and that was hardly as much fun as discovering fire. </p><p>        As fate would have it, though, a Blarg of short stature named Alonzo Drek would end up coming to her aid, offering to bail her out if she agreed to work for him as one of his bodyguards. </p><p>        She agreed, but strangely, her fellow Drophyd would not follow her once she was free.  They possibly saw her arrangement with the Blarg as treason, and instead opted to continue about their galactic travels unhindered by the exclusion of one of their top lieutenants. </p><p>        She wasn’t happy to be left behind by her own people, but a deal was a deal: She made her seabed, and now had to lay in it.</p><p>        Among her new co-workers was another enforcer, a warbot named Victor Von Ion, a hotbot named Rita who served as Drek’s secretary, and countless Blarg lackeys. </p><p>        Though she thought they would be enemies at first, she and Victor became surprisingly close friends that bonded over a number of things: Warfare, guns, ships, machismo, and a variety of sports that often involved spherical objects for some reason. </p><p>        There was really only one thing that got between them as companions: Rita.</p><p>        They were both very infatuated with her, and who wouldn’t be?  She was not only beautiful; she also had a charming and, in some ways, mysterious personality.  Rita was sweet and affectionate, but by no means a doormat. </p><p>        Something about a clever and authoritative spirit lingering underneath the surface of someone so elegant and demure was very enticing to both Finn and Victor. </p><p>        Their rivalry over who would win Rita’s mechanical heart began as a playful contest, but unfortunately transmuted into something very heated as time went on.  It was no longer enough to one-up each other, and they at some point had resorted to tearing each other down in front of their shared love interest to make the other look unsuitable for her affections. </p><p>        Rita didn’t enjoy their tasteless methods of competition, since she cared very much about the two, but it didn’t deter either of them.</p><p>        Although Finn appeared still young, she was actually quite old, for a Drophyd at least.  That was why her kin had viewed her as a seasoned war hero nearing the end of her lifelong campaign.  She didn’t have many more years left in her, and as a low blow, Victor had taken to reminding her of that, often in front of Rita.</p><p>        “Don’t forget you’re still just a squishy, Finn,” he’d say.  “Let’s say you and Rita did get together.  Somebody would have ta look after her when you’ve gone to the big fishbowl in the sky.  Might as well be your best buddy, right?”</p><p>        The sad thing was that he <em>was </em>right.  Robots lived for a very long time. </p><p>        Theoretically, robots could live forever, but most were eventually claimed by the effects of entropy just like any other being.  Faulty hardware would usually fail, and the data for the sentient robot’s personality and consciousness (though it was hotly debated if machines could have souls, if any living thing possessed a soul at all) might end up being wiped away before it could be transferred elsewhere. </p><p>        Victor himself was ancient, even by robot standards.  He might have even been one of the first known warbots in existence.  It could very well be him that died first, but Finn wouldn’t wish that upon him no matter how rocky their relationship got, even if in some bouts of anger, she’d claim such things.  He was still her best friend, despite their grievances. </p><p>        A part of her did hope that he would outlive her, and indeed go on to take care of Rita in her absence, as he did before they’d ever met. </p><p>        More than anything, she wanted them to be safe and happy, and when she was gone, would she even know the difference?  Would it really pain her that Victor got to be the one to court Rita in the end if she no longer existed? </p><p>        If it were dubious that robots continued to live beyond the death of their minds, could she be sure that she would continue to exist in some ethereal form or another? </p><p>        She supposed that no, it wouldn’t matter in the end.  It gave her a sense of comfort to think to herself that when she died, she would be the last one to know.  Probably.</p><p>        And so, it came as a surprise when Rita chose her over Victor.  Why, she didn’t know, and she didn’t care to ask.  Victor was awfully sore about it, but Finn told herself smugly, yet also with a sense of sorrow, that he would just have to wait his turn. </p><p>        That was an awful way to think of it, wasn’t it?  It wasn’t very nice to Rita. </p><p>        Finn meant no unkindness towards Rita, but rather, this was just her way of coping with her own mortality and a means of coming to terms with allowing there to be a rift between herself and her closest friend.  It was nice to think that in the end, everyone would get the happiness they felt they deserved.</p><p>        The drophyd tried not to dwell on it much.  She just focused her attention on what she supposed was her golden years.  Continuing to cause mayhem, doing the best that she could to maintain her unraveling relationship with her friend Victor, and most importantly: Loving Rita while she still could.</p>
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